

The Final Straw Radio
The Final Straw Radio
The Final Straw Radio is a weekly, anarchist show eminating from occupied Cherokee lands in so-called North Carolina and featuring the voices of folks engaged in struggles for liberation and the creation of rad culture since 2009. We're also syndicated on a few community radio stations around the U.S. We frequently also feature radio commentaries from anarchist prisoner Sean Swain and are a proud member of CZN (The Channel Zero Network) and ARN (The A-Radio Network).
Check out our past archives and ways to connect with us at https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org
Check out our past archives and ways to connect with us at https://thefinalstrawradio.noblogs.org
Episodes
Mentioned books

Mar 27, 2017 • 59min
A Tilted Guide to Being a Defendant
Interview This week Bursts spoke with Jude, a member of the Tilted Scales Collective, about the collective's new book, A Tilted Guide to Being a Defendant out from Combustion Books. In this interview, they speak about the Tilted Scales Collective, which is "a small collective of dedicated legal support organizers who have spent years supporting and fighting for political prisoners, prisoners of war, and politicized prisoners in the occupied lands of Turtle Island (i.e., the so-called united states)." from their website, and about the book which is a comprehensive run down for people facing legal charges and how to cope with handling them. You can visit them at https://tiltedscalescollective.org/ Announcement From fighttoxicprisons.org: The Campaign to Fight Toxic Prisons (FTP) is a collaboration with the Abolitionist Law Center. FTP's mission is to conduct grassroots organizing, advocacy and direct action to challenge the prison system which is putting prisoners at risk of dangerous environmental conditions, as well as impacting surrounding communities and ecosystems by their construction and operation. At this time, FTP is focused on opposing the construction of a new federal prison in Letcher County, Kentucky. FTP is inspired by the abolitionist movement against mass incarceration and the environmental justice movement, which have both been led by the communities of color who are hardest hit by prisons and pollution.Both these movements also have long histories of multi-racial alliances among those on the front lines of the struggle and those who can offer support and solidarity, which we aim to build on. FTP has been informed by the ongoing research and analysis of the Human Rights Defense Center's Prison Ecology Project, as well as the work of the Earth First! Prisoner Support Project and June11.org FTP has just announced that their 2017 convergence will be from June 2-5th in Denton/Fort Worth Texas. It will include speakers, panels, workshops, protests and cultural activities, including an art show and hip-hop performances. Some proposed topics are: – Mapping Toxic Prisons – The History and Future of June 11 – Building Mult-Racial Alliances Against Incarceration – EJ Lessons from the Pipeline struggles Why Texas? Environmentalists know Texas as the financial headquarters of oil and gas empire that controls the nation's political system, where fights against pipelines like Keystone XL and Trans-Pecos have captured the attention of the nation. Prison abolitionists know Texas as home to one of the most brutal and corrupt state prison systems in the country, where extreme heat is coupled with tainted water, and vocal participants from the September prisoner strike like Keith 'Malik' Washington sit in long term solitary confinement, subjected to both. You can stay updated on this event and see more about Fight Toxic Prisons at http://fighttoxicprisons.org Playlist: here

Mar 19, 2017 • 1h 22min
Janye Waller and anarchist thoughts on tactics at Standing Rock
This episodes features two portions. Janye Waller In the first segment we talk to Noelle about the case of Janye Waller. Janye is a young Black revolutionary from Oakland, California, who was the only person convicted of property destruction during the 2014 demonstrations in the Bay following the non-acquittal of pigs for the murders of Michael Brown and Freddie Gray. Noelle is a supporter of Janye Waller and believes that Janye's conviction was a clear case of railroading and racial profiling against a community activist. Janye is now finishing up a 2 year sentence with one year off for good behavior. The interview was held in February of 2017, and Janye is set to be released in coming months, then he's out on parole. You can find out more about his case and donate to his post-release fund at https://rally.org/supportjanye and updates can be found on his support fedbook page and to find out more about some projects Janye was involved with in Oakland, check out the site for El Qilombo You can write to Janye in the near future by addressing letters to: Janye Waller #ba2719 A Facility,P.O. Box 2500, Susanville, CA 96127-2500Anarchist Observations of the Struggle at Standing Rock In the second segment I speak with Noah, who is a well established movement medic, anarchist, and participant in #NoDAPL at Standing Rock, about his experiences there and analyses of how this resistance was organized and how it developed. This interview was recorded days before media saw the images of the Sacred Stone Camp burning and having been disbanded, so many of the modes and tenses that we employ are not what we might given the current position of the camps. We talk about a wide ranging set of topics, from what worked in the camps to what the failings were, and how resistance to extraction industries could look moving forward. For links on how to support the efforts at Standing Rock - which are ongoing and support is needed both for folk's legal and medical expenses - check out: Water Protector Legal Collective Sacred Stone Camp Medic and Healer Council Announcements ACAB2017 End of Submissions Shortly there'll be a posted end to a call for submissions for presenters, workshops and bands at the first annual Asheville Another Carolina Anarchist Bookfaire up on the website (https://ACAB2017.noblogs.org), but we announce it here. Submission deadline is April 1st, 2017. Spots are filling up fast. Check out the website for updates and we hope to see you there! TROUBLE showing at Firestorm, March 24th @ 7pm That about says it. First episode of TROUBLE, which was chatted about in our last episode as the new video series by subMedia will be showing at Firestorm Books & Coffee at 7pm on Friday the 24th of March! Episode Playlist

Mar 12, 2017 • 1h 1min
Hunger Striking Lucasville Defendants & TROUBLE by subMedia
Interviews with Queen Tahiyrah and Franklin López This episode contains two segments: In the first, Bursts spoke with Queen Tahiyrah about the hunger strike being engaged by Imam Siddique Abdullah Hasan and Jason Robb, two death row inmates put there by their attempt to resolved the hostage taking involved in the 1993 Lucasville Prison Uprising. During the uprising, Jason Robb and Hasan acted as negotiators for the prisoners as representatives of the Aryan Nation prison gang and Muslim prisoners, respectively, at the facility. More on their case can be found at http://lucasvilleamnesty.org. Check out Queen Tahiyrah's podcast, entitled SiGnOtHeTiMeS. We apologize that the beginning of Queen Tahiyrah's interview sounds crappy - that was a technical fail on our part - but it clears up after about 2 minutes. In the second segment, Bursts chatted with Franklin López about Submedia, the importance of anarchist media production, his upcoming anarchist hip hop podcast, and the new short documentary series they're about to start releasing entitled Trouble. Trouble is available for public showings, so find yourself a venue in town, contact Frankie and company via, pass word of the event in town via flyers and word of mouth and antisocial media and make some friends where you're at! The first episode will focus on diversity of tactics at Stand Rock with a focus on the Red Warrior Camp. More work by Frankie can be found at https://submedia.tv. Oh, and there's an announcement of a podcasting network looming on the horizon. More to come on that in future episodes. Announces Benefit Shows: Help our comrades arrested at J20! If you're in Asheville or the surrounding area, there is a benefit show TONIGHT (March 12) at the Odditorium at 1045 Haywood Rd in West Asheville. Proceeds will benefit our comrades who were arrested during the inauguration protests in DC earlier this year. Also, next Monday the 20th there will be a dance party to benefit J20 arrestees, come dance to mod, punk, and all the classics new and old with DJ Murphy Murph! This will be at the Lazy Diamond at 98-A N Lexington Ave in downtown Asheville. Rebel! Rebuild! Rewild! call for submissions The Rebel! Rebuild! Rewild! Collective has put out a call for submissions of texts about strategic lessons that can be learned from the resistance at Standing Rock. As one phase of the resistance has ended and another has begun, the idea is to compile experiences and analyses and reflect on the lessons learned from this game-changing moment in movement history. This project is mostly for the benefit of those who were not present at Standing Rock but who might participate in something similar in the future. The plan is to publish a compilation of thoughtful strategic analyses, both online and in print. However, seeing as it might not be possible to publish everything that people submit, the plan is to put an unedited version of everything that folks submit onto a wordpress site sometime in the future. The call is to write about anything you'd like to, but some leading questions are: Which actions were most effective? Which actions were least effective? Do you have any insights on dynamics between indigenous and non-indigenous water protectors? What was unifying? What was divisive? What can we learn from the tactics of DAPL, the police, and the state? What can we learn from the legal battle? What message would you like to pass on to future water protectors? Please submit writing to rebelrebuildrewild@riseup.net. Submissions can be signed with your legal name, an alias, or be anonymous. Please include whatever information about yourself that you consider relevant. Art by Julie Maas (borrowed from http://www.nightslantern.ca/) Playlist

Mar 5, 2017 • 59min
I Don't Know About Yall, But I'm in it to Win it: a conversation with Black Rose Anarchist Federation in L.A.
This week we spoke with Romina and César, who are two members of the Black Rose Anarchist Federation in LA. We talk about what it's like organizing in an Especifist federation model of anarchism, about anarcho-communism, and tensions and points of unity between non federation and federation organizing. We wanted to interview these folks in order to present another model of possible engagement, for folks who perhaps are looking for ways to plug in. This conversation is somewhat introductory, and we welcome any feedback you have. To see more on this project, you can visit http://www.blackrosefed.org/ Announces Events Tonight, Sunday the 5th of March from 5 to 7:30pm at Firestorm in Asheville, join Blue Ridge Anarchist Black Cross for an evening of solidarity in the form of letter writing for long term political prisoners: people who are locked up for their activism and resistance to systems of domination and oppression. Supplies will be provided as well as copies of the March 2017 prisonbooks Political Prisoner birthday calendar. More info can be found at https://brabc.blackblogs.org On Thursday, March 23rd, check out the Tranzmission book packaging party, also at Firestorm. Tranzmission prison project is an all volunteer, books-and-zines-to-prisoners project that focuses on getting materials to incarcerated LGBTQI prisoners. This event starts at 6pm. http://avlcommunityaction.com/ On Sunday March 12th at the Odditorium in Asheville, there'll be a benefit concert for folks facing charges attached to the J20 Inauguration protests in DC this January. The door is at 8pm, it's a sliding scale donation and an all-ages show. Bands include: Gullible Boys; Mother Moses; Maitland +more TBA Water Crisis in PA Prisons Since August of 2016, Mumia Abu-Jamal and other Inmates at the State Correctional Facility in Mahanoy, Pennsylvania, have been plagued with unsafe drinking and bath water. For several months now, inmates have complained about brown, oily water in both the showers and the faucets of their cells. This has been an on-and-off problem from August 2016 to this very day. One of the inmates at SCI Mahonoy, Lorenzo Cat Johnson, when asked of the matter, stated that one week the water seems good and another week, when run, the water seems to go from the color gray to the color brown. As recently as last week in a conversation with MOVE Political Prisoner Edward Africa, Eddie was asked what he did for water and he stated that he obtained his water from a hot water filter that was on his cell block. So other than the alternative to obtain a little water from a hot water filter, men are being forced to shower and wash in brown water. Eddie stated that the only time inmates can get bottled water is when they are on a visit in the visiting room. All the while, prison staff are being provided bottled water at SCI Mahanoy and are being told not to drink the water because it's unsafe. Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is suffering from a very serious skin condition due to Hepatitis C, is required to take specialized baths in the prison infirmary, but has not been able to take these baths due to the water hazard. Grievances have been filed on this matter, but to no avail--the water situation has not been resolved. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH On March 6, 2017 there will be a National Day of Action aimed at both Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel. The power is in the hands of the people; the only way to make these officials respond is through massive public pressure, so we are upping the ante. From 9 am to 12 noon, folks are being asked to call, fax, and tweet theoffice of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf. (P) (717)787-2500 (F) (717) 772-8284 (Twitter) @GovernorTomWolf From 1 to 3 pm, folks are being asked to call, email, and tweet Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel. (P) (717) 728-2573 (Email) Ra-crpadocsecretary@pa.gov (Twitter) @DOCSecretary These Are the Demands: (1) Inmates at SCI Mahanoy are provided immediately with clean waterboth for their bathing and other personal needs. (2) An environmental Protection Agency testing of the water at both SCI Mahonoy and SCI Frackville. (3) Bottled water be provided immediately to inmates in all Correctional Facilities across Pennsylvania. Let's keep the pressure on to get clean water for the men and women across Pennsylvania's state prisons. For more info, people can go to http://www.freemumia.com/ http://www.bringmumiahome.com Playlist pending

Feb 26, 2017 • 60min
Red Warrior Soceity Tour and Defending Water Protectors
Red Warrior Society Tour This week on the show we spoke with Ikmu, an indigenous activist who was involved in the Red Warrior Camp at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline. Ikmu is now affiliated with the Red Warrior Society and is traveling with comrades around the country on a tour to talk about their work, decolonization and the struggle against ecocidal projects like #DAPL. For the hour, Ikmu and Bursts talk about the Camps at #StandingRock, indigeneity, decolonization, the cases against Water Protectors Krow, Red Fawn Fallis and others, prayer, direct action and more. We had this conversation just after the eviction of the Oceti Oyati Camp by pol-igs of various stripes. To find out about the upcoming West Coast branch of the Red Warrior Society Ride For Resistance Tour, check out their FedBook page Red Warrior Society's legal fund Red Warrior Society's Funds Account Contacts and support for some of the folks who are still being held in custody in connection with water protection at Standing Rock are: Katie "Krow/Twig" Kloth Katie Kloth Morton County Correctional Center 205 1st Ave. NW Mandan, ND 58554 Red Fawn Fallis 205 6th Street SE Suite 201, Jamestown ND 58401 Charles "Scorch" Jordan Charles Jordan Burleigh County Jail PO BOX 1416 Bismarck, ND 58502 and Michael "Rattler" Markus Michael Markus PO Box 1108 Washburn, ND 58577 Please write to and support these folks! For more information and further ways to support these brave folks, you can get up with the Water Protector Legal Collective and the Water Protector Anti Repression Crew on FedBook. Fundraising sites for these folks can be found at It's Going Down. To check out our 2013 conversation with Krow on defending the Penokee Hills in northern Wisconsin, it starts 35 minutes, 47 seconds into the episode. Announcements Updates from Sabal Trail Resistance Following our interview last week with Karrie and Niko of Sabal Trail Resistance against the Sabal Trail Pipeline in the South Eastern U.S., the two locked down inside a section of the pipeline in Marion County, Florida to hamper the construction of the high pressure gas pipeline and demanding the release of a revised Environmental Impact Statement. (I misspeak in the podcast and claim it was under the Suwanee River. Apologies) You can donate to the legal fund for these and other Water Protectors in the South East by visiting https://sabaltrailresistance.wordpress.com/donate/ Building The Commune in Durham #BUILDINGTHECOMMUNE is a convergence organized to spread the tools and knowledge for self-defense and autonomy throughout our community in Durham, NC. We are dedicated to building a culture and space for autonomous resistance against Trump and his regime, the State, and capitalism. This convergence is happening across three different venues in Durham: Pinhook, Arcana, and the Atomic Fern. The Welcoming Committee will be setup at Pinhook (at 117 W. Main St, Durham, NC 27701) with materials/programming distributed there. Childcare will be provided with drop-off/pick-up at the Atomic Fern (at 108 E Parrish St, Durham, NC 27701). A free lunch will be provided at Pinhook by Durham FoodNotBombs FedBook. To close out the day, an Autonomous Assembly will be held at Pinhook from 4:00PM – 5:00PM. The assembly will collectively create the agenda to be discussed, but we'd like to suggest that folks come prepared to discuss: announcements and projects to collaborate on; skills, resources, and spaces we can share with one another; direct issues/crises facing the community or concerns we're feeling; and mutual aid networks (cop-watches, community medical programs, rapid-response call networks, etc.) we can begin building in Durham now. We will provide materials to help folks learn how they form affinity groups, so that they may begin autonomously building these networks themselves. You can see an entire list of workshops and events at the website http://www.buildingthecommune.com/ ACAB2017 If you are in Asheville or the surrounding area, consider participating in the first ever Asheville Anarchist Bookfair! The dates for this event are May 5-7th, and will include workshops, shows and dance parties, nature events, and a whole day of tabling revolutionary and anarchist art and literature. Keep your eyes on http://acab2017.noblogs.org for the latest in news about the fair, and also use this webiste to submit ideas for workshops, speakers, or tabling. See you there! Playlist

Feb 19, 2017 • 59min
Sabal Trail Pipeline Resistance in FL (USA) and "Antipolitika" newspaper in ex-Yugoslavia
This Episode Sabal Trail Resistance This week we're sharing a conversation we had with Karrie and Niko, two folks involved in the initiative called Sabal Trail Resistance. The immediate goal of Sabal Trail Resistance is to block the Sabal Trail Pipeline, actually a series of 3 pipelines meant to run through Georgia, Alabama and Florida, carrying pressurized natural gas. We spend about a half an hour of this episode chatting about the route, who'll be effected, the companies behind the pipeline, environmental racism, decolonization and other related topics. Coming up, they plan a weekend of action February 23-27, including an action against prisons and in solidarity with longterm Indigenous political prisoner, Leonard Peltier. More on their project can be found at https://sabaltrailresistance.wordpress.com and http://stopsabaltrail.com AntiPolitika After that, we're spreading a 10 minute interview between comrades at FrequenzA out of Hamburg, Germany, published in English at the end of January. From https://frequenza.noblogs.org: "The interview is about the first issue of 'antipolitika', released in summer 2016 with the topic antimilitarism. The anarchist newspaper consists of statements and articles from ex-yugoslavia and greece and is dedicated towards a broader public." Updates on Sean Swain Before these words from anarchist prisoner Sean Swain, we have a quick update on his dietary situation. We've just gotten word that Sean resumed eating on his 50th day of hunger strike. He is still not being given a halal diet in line with his practice of Islam, and neither are other Muslim prisoners in Ohio, but he's said that the administration is considering the move. He's achieved the other demands that he was hungerstriking for. If you'd like to see Sean and other adherents to Islam in Ohio prisons during this age of increasing Islamophobia be able to at least eat according to their faith's dietary practices, give a call to Ohio Governor, John "JWow" Kasich. You can call JWow at 614 466 3555, that's The Honorable Governor of Ohio, John Kasich at 614 466 3555. You can also write to him via Governor Kasich 77 South High Street Columbus, OH 43215-6117 And request that Sean Swain, prisoner #243-205 who's being held at Warren Correctional, be allowed to eat according to his faith. And, now, a word from Anarchist Prisoner Sean Swain Announcements Reporting ICE Raids on Social Media As many of yall are aware, there has been a lot of concern and fear regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement (or ICE) checkpoints recently. Given the rising tide of overt xenophobia and racism in this country, these concerns are valid, and there has been a lot in the way of confirmed raids and detentions by ICE. However, the use of social media in these situations is something that can both help and hurt the situation, both being an effective way to broadly communicate an issue and a platform for a whole lot of unsubstantiated claims and rumors. In an effort to battle this aspect of social media use, I'd like to plug a resource that DRUM put out some time ago. DRUM stands for Desis Rising Up and Moving, and they are a NYC based group which "is a multigenerational, membership led organization of low-wage South Asian immigrant workers and youth in New York City. Founded in 2000, DRUM has mobilized and built the leadership of thousands of low-income, South Asian immigrants to lead social and policy change that impacts their own lives- from immigrant rights to education reform, civil rights, and worker's justice. Our membership of over 2,400 adults, youth, and families is multigenerational and represents the diaspora of the South Asian community – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Guyana, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad." They have put out a very useful resource entitiled "A Brief Guide for Reporting Raids on Social Media", which we will link to directly in our blog. Basically it cautions against the spreading of unsubstantiated information and provides a step by step guide for what to do if you witness something: http://www.drumnyc.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/ABriefGuideforReportingRaidsonSocialMedia.docx.pdf To see more about DRUM you can visit http://www.drumnyc.org/ Support Krow From our comrades at http://supportkrow.org: On February 4, while supporting the No DAPL struggle, Krow (Katie Kloth) was assaulted and arrested by a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer (there is video of the incident below). She was walking on a public road, away from the Sacred Stone camp, when she was chased down by the officer. It is believed that she was specifically targeted because of her ongoing involvement and visibility within the No DAPL resistance, which had resulted in two arrests on misdemeanor charges previous to this incident. Krow was also known at Standing Rock for being an advocate for creating a unified front in fighting the pipeline. Krow has been charged with violation of felony probation and is being held at Morton County Correctional Center. The probation is from previous charges in Wisconsin stemming from an environmental protest against mining in the Penokee Hills in 2013, for which she served nine months in jail. After a recent bail reduction hearing, Krow was assigned a cash-only bail of $100,000. The stipulations of the judge require that the bail be paid in full. Even if the full bail is paid, it is likely that Morton County would refuse to release Krow. We are currently working with lawyers and legal teams in North Dakota and Wisconsin to figure this out. Donations to support Krow will go towards paying lawyers, commissary, postage, travel for supporters visiting Krow, and/or bail. Krow has stated that she wants the bail paid. We fear for Krow's safety and well-being, especially in light of her assault and the severe mistreatment other water protectors have received in this particular facility. Krow is an activist, artist, forager, sustainable farmer, biologist, and amazing person loved by many within the environmental movement. We need to show her as much solidarity and support as we can at this vital time. In Krow's own words, "We must negate state repression by protecting ourselves and land-bases therein; we must not give our people up, and recognize that to be in solidarity with one another is more akin to the idea of 'harmony' than 'unity.' Harmony implies that we can all do different things within the same song, and still find conclusion together." Whether you are a direct action environmental activist or simply support the No DAPL struggle and protection of the land and all of its people, join us in supporting Krow, in solidarity with all things wild and free. Contact Krow's support team at supportkrow (at)riseup.net You can also donate to Krow's legal fund at http://supportkrow.org/ Resisting Snitching in Berkeley From the Anti Repression Committee in Oakland: ARC is aware that UC Berkeley PD is circulating images of individuals who they claim are associated with the Berkeley anti-Milo protest on February 1. They are actively seeking information about these individuals, and are asking anyone with information to contact them. We want to remind everyone NOT to assist UC Berkeley PD in their investigation, EVEN IF it seems like the information you give is harmless. Remember that even minor information, like identifying a "witness," can be used to increase surveillance of activist communities. Police use this kind of information to map activist networks and harass them. In the current political climate, the state is looking for ways to clamp down on dissent and resistance. Let's not help them do that. Remember that you have NO LEGAL OBLIGATION to talk to police or FBI if contacted about the protest. They may try to make you feel intimidated, but you ALWAYS have the right to remain silent. If you are contacted by phone, email, letter, or in person, either ignore the correspondence, or tell the officer that you decline to speak with them. If you are contacted, immediately call the National Lawyers Guild at 415-285-1041 so that they can give you legal advice, and also so that they can be aware of police/FBI activities. Finally: DO NOT post or circulate the UC Berkeley PD webpage with pictures of individuals. We do not want to signal boost anything that will increase surveillance and targeting of our communities. NC J20 Defense As always, you can help support our comrades who got kettled in DC by donating to http://ncj20defense.com/ Playlist: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/19229

Feb 12, 2017 • 1h 5min
Underground Passages: Anarchist Resistance Culture 1848-2011
Jesse Cohn rebroadcast This week we are re-broadcasting an episode which originally aired in early May 2015 with Jesse Cohn who is the author of the book Underground Passages: Anarchist Resistance Culture 1848-2011, published by AK Press. In the book, Jesse explores trajectories in literature, cartoons, comics, music, poetry, drama produced at times by and or for or just conspicuously consumed by anarchists in europe, north and south america and asia during that time period. More info on the book can be found at https://www.akpress.org/ Stay tuned next week for a conversation with an anarchist who has spent a bunch of time in struggle at Standing Rock about their experiences and moving forward with an explicitely anti colonialist approach to resource extraction resistance. But first here are some announcements: "Imperial Wizard" kicks it! To start off with some good news, yesterday February 11th the bloated corpse of KKK Imperial Wizard Frank Ancona was fished out of the Missouri River, apparently after having been there for a hot minute. This piece of human garbage white supremacist is the bonehead who was credited with saying that Ferguson protesters, showing their rage at the police murder of Mike Brown, had awakened a "sleeping giant" in the KKK and claimed unlimited violence in "retaliation". Who's sleepin now, Frankie? In whatever way this death occured, here's hoping that KKK will follow their leader in this ultimate act. Support NC #DisruptJ20 arrestees On January 20, 2017, tens of thousands of people converged in Washington, D.C. for the #disruptJ20 protests opposing the inauguration of Donald Trump. A combination of blockades, marches, and festive demonstrations made it clear around the world that the people do not recognize Trump's authority or support his policies. In response, D.C. police went on a rampage, shooting pepper spray, tear gas, and concussion grenades indiscriminately at protesters, including children, the elderly, and people with disabilities. In one instance, police cordoned off an entire block and mass arrested 257 people, including dozens of North Carolinians. This attack on political dissent is intended to create a chilling effect to keep protesters out of the streets so that Trump can move forward with his divisive agenda. We owe it to the arrestees to support them through the legal process so they can get adequate representation and as fair a hearing as possible. A group of North Carolinian community organizers created the NC J20 Legal Defense Fund to quickly and efficiently support the arrestees from North Carolina. Please join us in donating, and spread the word to everyone who cares about civil discourse and the future of our world. If you are a North Carolinian arrested at #disruptJ20 and are not yet in touch with us, email ncj20legalteam@gmail.com We cannot accept donations in individual's names, but all donations will be used to provide legal support to #disruptJ20 arrestees from North Carolina. You can donate at http://ncj20defense.com/ Antifa Sacramento medical support From Antifa Sacramento: One of the six antifascists who was stabbed by Neo-Nazis at the capitol building in Sacramento on June 26th, 2016 still has thousands of dollars in medical bills to pay. An artist has made a beautiful print to support this person, and it is now being sold to continue fundraising for this brave individual's remaining medical bills. They are 5 dollars each, and printed on 7×8 cardstock. If you would like one, please head over to the website https://antifasac.noblogs.org/donate/, make a donation, and email the crew to let them know how many cards you'd like and what address we should mail it to. Thank you for the support! -Antifa Sacramento Herbal Clinic at la ZAD From comrades at la ZAD, the autonomous occupation resisting the building of an airport in in Notre Dame des Landres outside of Paris, France: We're a group of people who have been working with medicinal plants on the ZAD for the past 6 years. We've made a collective medicinal plant garden and do wild harvesting to stock a small apothecary of dried plants that we distribute at the non-market or out of a house. Some of us do first aid in demos or everyday on the ground, and others do education like plant walks and workshops. In an effort to have more collective autonomy in healthcare, we would like to be able to do consultations, both individual and group. The idea is to have one day a week for free price individual consultations, and another for people to come and learn together, combining different people's knowledge while having access to plants, to figure out common acute illnesses. However, to have enough medicine for 300 people all year long, would mean full time in the garden and probably bitter burnout. Which is why we are asking for money. Just this week a group in solidarity finished building a cabin where we can dry, process, and store plants, and do consultations and workshops. We're able to get access to bulk tinctures that are super cheap (€2 an oz.!!!) and plan to distribute medicine at free or indicated price so that we can make some of the money back and the clinic can fund itself and time can be spend gardening instead of having to beg for money all the time. Money raised will go primarily towards tinctures and dried plants, but also to bottles, tools and machines, and menstrum for making more medicine. Please help us out! Also if you can donate dried plants or medicine get in touch at plantesmedicinaleszad@riseup.net You can donate to la ZAD by visiting the website https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/zad-herb-clinic Playlist: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/19156

Feb 5, 2017 • 60min
NEW(ish) ANARCHIST (and antifascist) MUSIC plus announcements
This week we thought we'd take a teeny break from politics and scream it out with some new and not so new anarchist and antifascist punk, metal, new wave, and more. We'll be back next week with an anarchist take on updates at Standing Rock and how to keep anti extraction momentum going, plus strategies on how best for non indigenous folks to be accomplices in indigenous struggles. For music, as we have in the past, we tip our hats generously to the good folks at Red And Anarchist Black Metal & The Dark Skies Above Us for continuing to offer space for aggressive and not-so-aggressive anti-racist, antifascist, feminist, ecological, anti-capitalist, and generally anti-authoritarian music from around the world! Announcements These three people are being held by police in connection to water protection at Standing Rock, this information is from Water Protector Anti-Repression Crew. Rattler is a Water Protector who is currently being held pre-trial on federal felony charges produced through a grand jury indictment. Rattler's home is at Pine Ridge and he comes from a long legacy of struggle that he continued at Standing Rock against the Dakota Access Pipeline and it's world. Please support Rattler as he fights these charges brought against him by the federal government. Rattler would love to receive your letters and cards of support. Rattler loves fantasy fiction and Dungeons and Dragons material. He'd appreciate something to read while he is inside. Michael Markus Box 1416 Bismarck, ND 58502-1416 Red Fawn Fallis is still being held pre-trial on federal charges as well. Red Fawn has shown her dedication to the water, the earth and all that is sacred. Her spirits remain high despite the ways in which the state hopes to squash her. Please send your support to Red Fawn through letters! Red Fawn Fallis Stutsman County Correctional Center 205 6th st. SE, Ste 201 Jamestown, ND 58401 Charles Jordan has been held in Morton County Jail since November 17th, 2016 on three state felony charges. He was initially ineligible for bond and his current conditions of release set by the court are unable to be met at this time. His brutal arrest is not the only time Morton County Sheriffs enacted such violence on Water Protectors. We have received reports of continued mistreatment while in custody including lack of medical services and hygiene access for weeks at a time. Please send Charles a letter letting him know that he is not alone! Charles Jordan Morton County Correctional Center 205 1st Ave. NW Mandan, ND 58554 We will be posting this information on our blog, and you can check out It's Going Down for this and similar news and info. Petition Gov. Cuomo not to restrict visiting hours We really need to ramp up the pressure on this horrible visiting restriction Cuomo is about to jam in there. This is an issue that affects all of our fellow Certain Days editors, David Gilbert, Seth Hayes and Herman Bell, and thousands of other people in NY state prisons. Governor Cuomo has just proposed to limit visiting at New York State maximum security prisons to 3 days a week instead of the current 7. If passed, this measure will be awful for thousands of people and their families. The Governor talks a bunch of crap about compassion and reducing mass incarceration, but this proposal will seriously escalate suffering and family disruption. Under the current 7-day system, weekend visitors (many are women with young children) often wait 2-3 hours to see their loved ones. With reduced days, the wait will be longer, the visitor rooms more crowded, the visiting days and hours even more limited. This will be terrible for everyone and impossible for many. Please email and write these people below and remind them how important visiting is and how this proposal is wrong on all levels. ***** Governor Cuomo ***** Sign: https://www.change.org/p/governor-cuomo-don-t-restrict-visits-in-nys-prisons Call (weekdays) --> (518) 474-8390 Email: https://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form Write: The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 Email these people: 1) Marta Nelson, marta.nelson@exec.ny.gov- Executive Director of the Governor's Council on Community Re-Entry and Reintegration 2) Acting DOCCS Commissioner Annucci, anthony.annucci@doccs.ny.gov 3) Senator Gallivan, gallivan@nysenate.gov- Senate Chair of Corrections Committee 4) Assemblymember Weprin, WeprinD@nyassembly.gov - Assembly Chair of Corrections Committee 5) Senator Avella, Avella@nysenate.gov- Senate Chair of Children & Families Committee 6) Assemblymember Jaffee, JaffeeE@nyassembly.gov - Chair Assembly Committee on Children & Families ======= Playlist here

Jan 29, 2017 • 1h 2min
Jeremy Bentham *loves* the Surveillance State
The Inspection House This time we are rebroadcasting an episode which originally aired in March 2015 with the two authors of the book "The Inspection House", Emily Horne and Tim Maly. In this interview we talk about the book, the idea of the panopticon, the concept of security theater as a psychologically repressive tool and much more. We decided that now would be a good time to rebroadcast this particular episode because, what with a bunch of comrades and heros ramping up in righteous ways on various fronts, it might be a good idea to re-introduce this idea of panoptic surveillance with an eye to helping spark conversations in yalls communities about security culture and keeping safe in the midst of a high key surveillance state. It's believed that under Trump, the surveillance will only get more nightmarish and more fascistic, however we can and will adapt to this newer state of affairs. To get a copy of this book and to read some more about it and the authors, you can visit https://chbooks.com/Books/T/The-Inspection-House Make Airports Great for the First Time Ever If you are listening in Asheville, there is a protest called for at 4pm TODAY at the Atlanta airport - which is the busiest in the country - in response to Trump's ban on Muslim people from countries including Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. This has led to folks with greencards getting detained and questioned in airports all over the U.S. If you can make the drive and want to be a part of the already massive resistance, please do! Be advised that protesting at airports is a different ballgame than in the streets, the presence of homeland security makes the possibility of being detained for lengthy periods without access to legal aid more likely. Keep yourself and your crew safe by making sure no one gets lost or separated. https://itsgoingdown.org/igd-protests-breakout-airports-trumps-immigration-ban/ Announcements Sean Swain on Hunger Strike Sean Swain continues his hunger strike against his unfair treatment at the hands of the Ohio Department of Corrections at Warren Corruptional in Lebanon, Ohio. For those who don't know Sean, here's some background. Sean Swain went to prison in 1991 for defending himself during a home invasion. He was dating and living with a woman and her kids when her abusive ex-partner and father of the kids was released from prison and came to confront Sean, who he saw as a usurper. When dude kicked in the door to the apartment Sean defended himself from what he saw was an attacker with a weapon and stabbed the man. Sean had no prior record. The home invader was related to court officials and so the case was made and Sean Swain was convicted. As time went on, Sean became politicized in prison, developed anarchist critiques and began publishing zines with the help of outside groups like Anarchist Black Cross. As time went on, Sean became a thorn in the side of the administration of his prisons by developing and implementing skills as a jailhouse lawyer, adept at filing lawsuits on behalf of himself and other prisoners against deplorable conditions. In 2012, Sean was charged with being an organizer with the Army of the 12 Monkeys, a guerrilla sabotage movement in the Ohio Prison system that spread ideas of resistance among prisoners and organized conflagrations in institutions. Sean denied his participation with what he called a self-styled Maoist organization, though he expressed appreciation of the content. Due to this conviction, Sean was shuttered away in super duper uber mega ultramax prisons. This is when our relationship with Sean began. Since January 19th, 2014, we've aired mostly weekly installments of a segment by Sean called "You Are The Resistance", in which Sean talks about his time inside, his ideas, shares his humor at the illogical world of politics and what he calls Swivelization and more. You can find these segments linked from Sean's support site, http://seanswain.org, alongside his writings and updates on his case. Sean is currently being held in a suicide cell, away from general population at Warren CI in Lebanon, Ohio, as I mentioned. He has refused to speak to administrators and refused food since December 26th of 2016, only taking water. This is worrisome as he's no spring chicken, he's hunger struck before, and according to word that got out a few days ago he's dropped in weight by 28 pounds and has crossed the 30 day threshold, increasing the danger of organ and bone damage due to lack of nutrients. Sean is striking because administration keeps throwing unwarranted charges his way and isn't providing him with functioning means of communication with his aging parents and his supporters. Here's what you can do, dear listeners: you could annoy the Deputy Warden of Operations at Warren CI by calling him at 513 932 3388 extension 2005 and requesting that he seee to the repair of all broken phones at the institution holding Sean and a regular schedule of maintenance be established. You can also call Warden's Assistant Greg Kraft (513) 932-3388 ext. 2010 and request that they retract the charge of extortion that's been placed on Sean and that they stop messing with our boy. Stay Dangerous, Swainiacs, and let's get Sean outta the hole and back on the mac n cheese. Legal Defense for J20 Protesters Various community defense funds have sprung up around getting support moneys to folks facing charges from arrests in Washington DC while protesting the Inauguration of Donald Kampf, I mean Trump on January 20th. On that day at around 11AM, a group of over 200 folks were kettled at the intersection of 12th & L (12L!), including journalists, medics, legal observers from the NLG & ostensibly protesters. While the kettle was valiantly charged and briefly broken, the majority of these folks inside were arrested and face felony riot charges. Likely, most of these charges will be dropped AAAAND a suit against the city and USPP and other law enforcement that kept kettled folks out in the 40 degree weather over the course of 7 hours is pending. But, check out our blog post for various fundraisers to get moneys to friends across North Carolina, in PA, Virginia, and other places who could use help covering lost wages, legal fees and travel costs outside of what's being offered by the DisruptJ20 crew. #J20 New Orleans Arrestee Support Durham DisruptJ20 Legal Fund Pittsburghers arrested in DC Richmond Antifa of the Seven Hills defense fund Denver folks arrested in the streets Keep your eyes out for more defense initiatives, this is by no means a complete list. Richard Spencer got clocked and everyone loves it! Philly antifa is also pre-emptively raising money to support the person who sucker punched alt-right pundit and nazi saluter Richard Spencer in the head on January 20th in the streets of DC. While conducting an interview and being heckled by folks around him, Richard Spencer was just reaching for his trusty Pepe the frog pin to explain the meme to the cameras when, irony of irony, he was about to become one himself. While the puncher has yet to be unmasked, don't think that the state and autonomous right don't want to make a trophy of them. We're including a link to this in our notes as well. Here's to more direct action and more dance remixes. To donate or learn more, check out https://phillyantifa.org/aboutdonate/ https://duckduckgo.com/?q=turn+down+for+what+spencer&t=lm&ia=videos&iax=1&iai=lyG16sAemLM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCZ19LLMRsU Antifa gunshot support During a protest against a speaking engagement by over-rated, pro-genocide & anti-semetic alt-right yackjob and Breitbart editor Milo Yiannopoulos, a right winger shot an unarmed antifascist IWW organizer. The shooter later turned himself in, claiming self defense, and was released by Seattle police. The Wobbly who was shot is apparently not filing charges and is requesting dialogue. If you'd like to offer medical support to the shot antifascist, you can find a fundraising page at https://www.crowdrise.com/medical-fundraiser-for-iww-and-gdc-member-shot-in-seattle Playlist: http://www.ashevillefm.org/node/19005

Jan 23, 2017 • 59min
The Deep State Ain't Gonna Save Ya, People
This week we spoke with James. James is involved in anti-fascist and anti-repression work. Over the hour we spoke about the election of Donald Trump, the need for resistance in the face of a rising autonomous ethno-nationalism in the form of the alt-right and other formations, liberal ideas of the CIA and deep-state saving us from "ourselves," autonomous community building and self-defense and more. Here are a number of texts that James suggests readers check out to be better informed: http://Threewayfight.blogspot.ca https://itsgoingdown.org/trumptheregime-resources-ongoing-resistance-trump-far-right/ http://Antifascistnews.net https://www.academia.edu/5486857/Counterinsurgency_and_the_Occupy_Movement https://itsgoingdown.org/limits-possibilities-anti-fascism/ https://media.wix.com/ugd/c1543a_b08ebbb3dd6e426eb8f9d356e11acb23.pdf


